Brotherhood of Steel (East Coast)
Brotherhood of Steel (East Coast) The East Coast chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel was formed from the expeditions the West Coast Brotherhood sent to investigate the rest of the former United States. Within decades, they became the most powerful organization on the East Coast while straying from the original tenants. History In 2254, the Brotherhood of Steel sent an expedition led by Paladin Owyn Lyons to reconnect with the Midwest chapter and investigate the ruins of Washington DC for technology and reports of super mutants. After failing to make contact with the Midwest chapter, the expedition continued east to Pittsburgh; horrified at the city's population of mutants and raider gangs, the Brotherhood initiated "The Scourge", destroying anything hostile that they encountered. Paladin Ismael Ashur was caught in an explosion at a steel mill and presumed dead, with the Brotherhood continuing on without him. The Brotherhood drove deep into Washington DC, eradicating super mutants and earning the favor of the local population. Investigating the Pentagon, they discovered a massive cache of pre-war technology, including the massive Liberty Prime robot. Lyons was promoted to Elder and ordered to establish a permanent chapter in the Capital Wasteland. The Pentagon was turned into the Citadel, the chapter's new headquarters. Rather than continuing their search for technology, however, Elder Lyons began a humanitarian mission to help the citizens of DC improve their civilization and began recruiting wastelanders into their ranks. A group of traditionalists broke off and formed their own splinter chapter and the West Coast Brotherhood cut off support for having strayed from their mission. The East Coast Brotherhood aided a team of scientists in Rivet City in the development of Project Purity, an effort to cleanse the waters of DC of radiation to make it safe to drink. Their support steadily eroded and ended completely after their head scientist abandoned the project to raise his son in Vault 101. Weakened and isolated, the Enclave took advantage of the situation to flee from their war with the New California Republic and set up a base at Raven Rock. In 2277, the son of Dr. James (the head scientist from Project Purity) escaped Vault 101. Known to the wasteland as the Lone Wanderer, he rescued his father from entrapment in Vault 112 and attempted to restart Project Purity, only for the Enclave to capture the research site and kill James. The Lone Wanderer successfully convinced the Brotherhood of Steel to aid him in seizing Project Purity and driving the Enclave out of the Capital Wasteland. In 2278, Elder Lyons died, passing on his position to his daughter, Sarah Lyons. Almost immediately after her nomination, Sarah Lyons was killed in combat and the East Coast Brotherhood suffered a succession crisis as multiple Elders were appointed and deposed. This ended in 2283 when 16-year-old Arthur Maxson, the last descendant of Roger Maxson, came to power by defeating Shepherd, a super mutant attempting to rally all mutants under his banner. Using the remains of the Enclave Mobile Crawler from Adams Air Force Base, the East Coast Brotherhood built an airship, the Prydwen, from 2281 to 2287 to use in their effort to conquer the entire Eastern Seaboard and reestablished contact with Lost Hills. After sending several scouting missions into the Commonwealth, the ''Prydwen ''flew into the Boston Airport in 2287 to establish a foothold. Government The East Coast Brotherhood uses a different ranking system from the West Coast. Brotherhood recruits can enter either military or civilian service. * The Army consists of the Brotherhood ground forces, beginning at the rank of Squire before becoming an Initiate. Soldiers progress through ranks of Knights and Paladins, with the highest rank being Sentinel. * The Air Force consists of Brotherhood soldiers trained to pilot and crew aircraft, both airships and Vertibirds. Air Force members are referred to as lancers, with the highest rank being Lancer-Captain. * Civilians are scribes split into three orders: the Order of the Shield (armor technology), Order of the Sword (weapons technology), and Order of the Quill (history, records, and non-combat technology). Each Order is led by a Proctor, who consults with the Head Scribe and Elder. The Head Scribe is in charge of all scribes, directly under the Elder. The Elder is the supreme leader of the East Coast Brotherhood (though still officially subservient to the High Elder from the West Coast) and can be elected from any branch, most commonly military. Society Unlike the West Coast Brotherhood, the East Coast chapter is generally friendly to outsiders. Owyn Lyons reframed the Brotherhood's mission as utilizing its technology to improve the lives of others, while Arthur Maxson expanded this to taking control of territory and forming a new government. The East Coast Brotherhood accepts recruits from regular wastelanders, eliminates hostile mutants, feral ghouls, and synths, and engages in limited trade of their technology with outsiders. The East Coast Brotherhood believes in justice and aiding the weaker and less fortunate. Rather than hiding in secret like the original Brotherhood of Steel, they actively involve themselves in the politics of the area to the extent of attempting to take over territory. Military The East Coast Brotherhood has the most technologically advanced military anywhere on the East Coast after their destruction of the Enclave, except possibly the Institute. Regular soldiers are equipped with power armor and powerful energy weapons, making them formidable even against armies of super mutants. The East Coast Brotherhood makes heavy usage of aircraft, in particular Vertibirds and the ''Prydwen ''airship. The most powerful weapon in their hands is Liberty Prime, a giant pre-war robot capable of firing lasers and throwing mini-nukes. Currency Like their West Coast counterpart, the East Coast Brotherhood officially issues Brotherhood scrip for inter-organization purchases. Because of their heavy involvement in local governing and trade, however, they also make use of local currency such as bottle caps.